Broxton Old Hall

Infobox Historic building
name = Broxton Old Hall

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caption = Broxton Old Hall
map_type = Cheshire
latitude = 53.0746
longitude = -2.7651
location_town = Broxton, Cheshire
location_country = England
architect = John Douglas 1873 extension
client =
engineer =
construction_start_date = 1595
completion_date = 1873
date_demolished =
cost =
structural_system = Timber framed
style =
size =

Broxton Old Hall (or Broxton Higher Hall) is in Old Coach Road convert|0.5|mi|km|0 west of the village of Brown Knowl, in the civil parish of Broxton, Cheshire, England (gbmapping|SJ487533). It is a Grade II listed building.cite web |url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/search/details.aspx?pid=1&id=404742 |title=Images of England: Broxton Old Hall |accessdate=2008-03-11 |publisher=English Heritage ]

History

The site has been occupied since before 1327.cite web |url=http://www.parksandgardens.ac.uk/index.php?option=com_parksandgardens&task=site&id=592&Itemid=292 |title=Broxton Old Hall |accessdate=2008-03-11 |publisher=Parks & Gardens Data Services ] The house dates from 1595.cite book | last =Pevsner | first =Nikolaus | authorlink =Nikolaus Pevsner | coauthors =Edward Hubbard | title =The Buildings of England: Cheshire |edition= | publisher =Yale University Press| date =2003| origyear=1971| location =New Haven| pages =117 | url = | doi = | id = | isbn =0 300 09588 0 ] It was built by Thomas Dod and later bought by Sir Philip Egerton in 1670. [cite book | last =Robinson | first =J. M. | authorlink = | coauthors = | title =Guide to the Country Houses of the North West |edition= | publisher = | date =1988 | location =London | pages = | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = Reference given in cite web |url=http://www.r-alston.co.uk/ch_eng.htm |title=The Country House Database |accessdate=2008-03-11 |publisher=Robin Alston ] In 1873 the house was extended to the sides and to the rear to a design partly by John Douglas.

Architecture

The house is timber framed with oak frames and plaster panels. The roofs are of stone slates and have ornate bargeboards and finials. The chimneys consist of detached diagonal flues. The house is in two storeys. The original part of the house has four bays and two gables and a gabled porch. To the left of this part of the house is a recessed wing with one gable and to its right is a projecting wing with one gable. To the sides of each of these are further recessed wings, that to the left having a further gable. The windows are of oak; those in the upper storey have mullions and those in the lower storey have mullions and transoms. Pevsner describes it as being "an ornate gabled black and white house".

The lodge to the hall is also listed Grade II. It is dated 1873, is a timber framed building on a brick plinth and was designed by John Douglas. It has one storey and is in Jacobethan style. [cite web |url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/search/details.aspx?pid=1&id=404743 |title=Images of England: Lodge to Broxton Old Hall |accessdate=2008-03-11 |publisher=English Heritage ]

Gardens

The grounds of the hall are included in the U.K. Database of Historic Parks and Gardens. They include a formal garden, garden terraces and lawns. The grounds are not open to the public. In the garden is a structure cut into a cliff and partly lined with blocks of sandstone. It dates from the early 19th century or before. Its base measures around 6m square and it is 4m high. On the floor are stone flags and the ceiling slopes to a central ridge. To its right is a shallow partly natural cave. It is listed Grade II.cite web |url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/search/details.aspx?pid=1&id=404745 |title=Images of England: Stone parlour in grounds of Broxton Old Hall |accessdate=2008-03-11 |publisher=English Heritage ] It has been described variously as a "stone parlour", a grotto,cite web |url=http://www.york.ac.uk/depts/arch/landscapes/ukpg/sites/broxtono.htm |title= Broxton Old Hall |accessdate=2008-03-11 |publisher=U.K. Database of Historic Parks and Gardens ] or King James' Parlour. [cite web |url=http://www.peckfortonhills.co.uk/public/control.php?_path=/137/165/177 |title=Caves, mines and quarries |accessdate=2008-03-11 |publisher= Peckforton Hills Local Heritage Project]

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